Plotting apparatus



Jan. 25, 1966 N. D. BIRRELL 3,230,622

PLOTTING APPARATUS Original Filed Dec. 24, 1965 humm FIXED BuoY SONARTRPNSPONDER INVENTOR i NORMAN D. EHRRELL 3|O` OSONAR TRAusoueeR Flxeo U8/f I BY MM Buov Som L ATTORNEY;

TRANSPO DER United States Patent The present invention relates to newand novel plotting apparatus, and more particularly to the apparatus forplotting the position and heading of a collecting means utilized in anunderwater mining operation at great depths beneath the surface of thesea.

The present application is a division of copending U.S.

patent application Serial No. 332,999, tiled December .'24,

The present invention is especially adapted for use with apparatusemployed for the recovery of solid substances disposed at the bottom ofthe sea such as manganese .nodules which are yresting on the sea bottomand which are found in quantities suiiicient for commercial mining atdepths ranging generally from 400 feet to 12,000 feet or more beneaththe surface of the sea. t

Apparatus employed for mining of such substance includes a ship adaptedto move along the surface, this ship being operatively connected with asuitable collecting means which moves along the sea bottom and collectsthe desired solid bodies.

It is apparent that when the collecting means is disposed at such greatdepths, it becomes a major problem in carrying out the mining operationto determine the exact location of the collecting means with respect toa known reference position. The present invention is particularlydirected to the plotting apparatus employed for providing a visualindication of the exact loo-ation of the collecting means.

The collecting means is provided with suitable electronic equipmentwhich cooperates with other electronic equipment disposed .at fixedlocations in the sea which provides a means for determining the positionof the collecting means of the underwater mining apparatus with respectto a relatively xed reference baseline.

lt is accordingly a principal object of the present invention to providea means for plotting the position and heading of the collecting meanswith respect to a base line.

Other objects and many attendant advantages oi the invention will becomemore apparent when considered in connection with the specification andaccompanying drawings wherein:

FiG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the basic arrangement andinterrelationship of certain components of the system employed forlocating the collecting means at the bottom of the sea;

HG. 2 is a top view of the plotting apparatus for plotting the positionand heading oi the collecting means with respect to a base line; and

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the structure shown in FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference charactersdesignate corresponding parts throughout the several views, there .isshown in FIG. 1 a schematic illustration of the general setup of thesystem for locating the collecting means. As seen in this figure, aparticular surface area of the sea or the sea bottom is illustratedschematically, and the outer square as dened by the solid lines mayinclude for example an area of l5 miles x 15 miles, while the innersquare indicated by phantom lines may encompass an area having sides ofmiles. These figures represent the area within which the system isexpected to operate within the desired degree of accuracy.

The position Vof two fixed buoy means is indicated by reference numerals278 and 2.79. Each of these buoy means includes an anchor means forholding it in a rela tively lixed position with respect to the bottom ofthe sea, the buoys including a Sonar receiver transducer and sonarreceiving mechanism which cooperates with a radio transmitter which inturn is connected with a transponder buoy including radio antenna meansfor sending a signal back to the mining ship.

The collecting means is provided with a sonar transducer indicated byreference numeral 310, the sonar transducer accordingly moving alongwith the collecting means and sending out periodic signals to provide ameans for locating the collecting means. As seen in FIG. 1, thedirection of travel of the collecting means and its associated sonartransducer is indicated by an appropriate arrow, and a base lineextending between the buoys is indicated by reference numeral SUS.

The dotted lines between the sonar transducer and the buoy meansindicate the path along which signals from .the sonar transducer willtravel to the two buoy means,

it being noted that the path to the buoy means 278 is shorter than tothe other buoy means 279 whereby less time will be required for thesignal to travel from the transducer to the buoy means 27S than from thetrans- .ducer to the buoy means 279. The system as described willprovide satisfactory result-s assuming that for all Iintents andpurposes the two buoy means are in fact stationary with respect to thesea bottom, and further assuming that the velocity of sound at the seabottom will be substantially constant over the working area, andfurthermore assuming that with the collecting means traveling at amaximum speed of approximately 5 knots along the sea bottom, Dopplerelects will be negligible.

A suitable keying pulse such as a 1 kilocycle pulse is generated by asonar transmitter on the ship and may be repeated at a rate of 2 pulsesper minute in a typical cxample. This keying pulse is adapted to triggertwo electronic counters on the ship and also serve to trigger the sonartransducer on the collecting means. The sonar transducer creates a soundpulse which radiates symmetrically from the collecting means and whichis received by the sonar receiver transducer means of the two fix-edbuoy means after a period of time depending on the distance between thecollecting means and the xed buoy means, and also according to the speedof sound in this environment.

The sonar receivers at each of the buoys then trigger the radiotransmitters thereat which send radio pulses back to the ship at thespeed of light. These received radio pulses are then adapted to gate theassociated r counters on lthe ship which thereby register the total timefor the initial keying pulse to the gating pulse. Since the timerequired to transmit the signal back to the ship `from the buoys isnegligible compared to the amount of time involved in transmitting thesignals through the water, the counters will essentially register theacoustic transit time from the sonar transducer on the collecting meansto the sonar receiver transducers or" the fixed buoy means.

Accordingly, the two counters on the ship will provide a readingindicative of the distance of the collecting means from each of thefixed buoy means, each of the counters being triggered by one of theltwo buoy means.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawing, the plotting apparatus of thepresent invention is illustrated. A suitable support or base means 312is provided which in turn supports a transparent shield member 3114formed of plastic or a suitable material which is adapted to support f 3a sheet of plotting paper or a chart thereon as indicated by phantomline 615.

A pair of precision lead screws having precision screw threads formedthereon are indicated by reference numerals 317 and 318, these leadscrews being threaded within complementary threaded holes provided insupport members 319 and 3120 respectively. The tw-o support members areeach mounted for pivotal movement about a vertically extending axis asseen in FIG. 3, the t-wo support members being indicated as being heldin operative position by tapered p in means such as illustrated at 322extending downwardly into the support means 312. It will accordingly beapparent that the lead screws 317 and 3118 are adapted toV swing aboutpivot axes extend-ing vertically upwardly through the central part ofthe support members 319 and 320, and the two lead screws can each berotatably adjusted for movement through the support members.

Micrometer dial means 324 and 325 are mounted at the outer ends of thetwo lead screws 317 and 318 respectively, these two micrometer dialmeans being calibrated in suitable time intervals such as seconds, andutilizing the information from the two counters on the ship, themicrometer dial means of the two lead screws may be adjusted to indicatethe suitable time interval as indicated by the counter means which inturn will be translated into a distance measurement due to thecalibration of the lead screws and the associated micrometer dials.

Bearing means 327 and 328 are mounted at the outer ends of lead screws317 and 318 respectively, these bearing means including roller bearings330 and 331 extending downwardly therefrom and adapted to rest upc-n andglide along the upper surface of the support means 312 whereby the leadscrews can be readily adjusted in position.

A movable cross head is indicated generally by reference numeral 333 andincludes an upper portion 335 and a lower portion 336, these twoportions being pivotally interconnected with one another and each havinga hole formed therethrough having precision threads thereon forreceiving therein the lead screws 318 and 317 respectively.

`A small upwardly projecting portion 338 serves to support anilluminating means such as a light bulb 339 which may be turned on oroff with a conventional switch means 340. It is apparent `that theupwardly directed light bulb will serve to provide a small point oflight which will shine upwardly through the transparent shield means 314and through the chart or plotting paper 315.

It should be understood that the fixed pivot axes of the support means319 and 320 for 4the two lead screws 317 and 318 respectively representthe fixed positions of the buoy means 278 and `279 as for exampleillustrated in FIG. l, while the position of the light bulb 339 of themovable cross head represents the position of the sonar transducer orthe collecting means 310 as seen in FIG. 1.

It is accordingly app-arent that after obtaining suitable readings fromthe counter means on the ship, an operator will adjust the micrometerdials 319 and 320 which will cause the movable cross head to move intosuch a position that the small light shining upwardly therefrom willproduce a `dot on the plotting paper indicating the position of thecollecting means whereby the location of the collecting means withrespect toa known reference base line is readily determined. Thecollecting means may also be provided with a magnetic compass meanswhich provides a signal to a compass repeat means provided on the shipto provide a heading reading for the collecting means. The operator maythen place a small arrowhead `on the chart, this arrowhead beingpositioned over the dot of light on the chart and extending in adirection representing the heading of the collecting means.

It is apparent from the foregoing that there is provided according tothe present invention plotting apparatus foruaccurately locating theposition and heading of a collecting means with respect Ito a fixedreference base line.

As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departingfrom the sp-irit or essential characteristics thereof, the presentembodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, and since thescope of the invention is defined by the appended claims, all changesthat fall with-in the metes and bounds of the claims or that form'theirfunctional as well Yas 'conjointly' cooperative equivalents aretherefore intended to `be embraced by those claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for plotting the position and heading of a collecting meansutilized in an underwater mining operation at great depths beneath thesurface of the sea comprising base means, a pair of elongated precisionlead screws having precision screw threads Iformed thereon, a pair ofsupport members, each of said support members being pivotally supportedby said base means for pivotal movement about a fixed axis extendingsubstanltially normally to said base means, said support members beingspaced a substantial distance from one another, each of said lead screwsIbeing supported adjacent one end thereof by one of said supportmembers, each of said lead screws being rotatably adjustable withrespect to the associated support member for movement therethrough, eachof said lead screws having micrometer dial means disposed at said oneend thereof and calibrated to permit adjustment to translate suchadjustments into a distance measurement, bearing means disposed at theopposite end of each of said lead screws, the bearing means at the endof each lead screw extending downwardly therefrom and includinganti-friction means at the lower end thereof adapted to rest upon andglide along the upper surface of said base means, said lead screws eachbeing supported in spaced relationship to said base means solely by theassociated support member and bearing means, a movable cross headincluding an upper portion and a lower portion, said upper and lowerportions being pivotally interconnected with one another, each of saidportions having a hole formed therethrough having precision threadstherein, each of said holes receiving one of said lead screws threadedtherethrough, said cross head being supported solely by the threadedinterconnections with said lead screws, and indicating means on saidcross head for indicating the position of said collecting means.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said indicating meanscomprises illuminating means projecting upwardly from said cross head,and a transparent support member supported :by said base means anddisposed in overlying relationship to said cross head for supportingplotting paper thereon on which can be indicated the position of thecollecting means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,171,561 9/1939Hooven 250-11 2,422,025 6/1947 Luck. 2,493,786 1/1950 Swift 33-1892,598,693 6/1952 Henry.

ISAAC LISANN, Primary Examiner.

1. APPARATUS FOR PLOTTING THE POSITION AND HEADING OF A COLLECTING MEANSUTILIZED IN AN UNDERWATER MINING OPERATION AT GREAT DEPTHS BENEATH THESURFACE OF THE SEA COMPRISING BASE MEANS, A PAIR OF ELONGATED PRECISIONLEAD SCREWS HAVING PRECISION SCREW THREADS FORMED THEREON, A PAIR OFSUPPORT MEMBERS, EACH OF SAID SUPPORT MEMBERS BEING PIVOTALLY SUPPORTEDBY SAID BASE MEANS FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ABOUT A FIXED AXIS EXTENDINGSUBSTANTIALLY NORMALLY TO SAID BASE MEANS, SAID SUPPORT MEMBERS BEINGSPACED A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE FROM ONE ANOTHER, EACH OF SAID LEAD SCREWSBEING SUPPORTED ADJACENT ONE END THEREOF BY ONE OF SAID SUPPORT MEMBERS,EACH OF SAID LEAD SCREWS BEING ROTATABLY ADJUSTABLE WITH RESPECT TO THEASSOCIATED SUPPORT MEMBER FOR MOVEMENT THERETHROUGH, EACH OF SAID LEADSCREWS HAVING MICROMETER DIAL MEANS DISPOSED AT SAID ONE END THEREOF ANDCALIBRATED TO PERMIT ADJUSTMENT TO TRANSLATE SUCH ADJUSTMENTS INTO ADISTANCE MEASUREMENTS, BEARING MEANS DISPOSED AT THE OPPOSITE END OFEACH OF SAID LEAD SCREWS, THE BEARING MEANS AT THE END OF EACH LEADSCREW EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY THEREFROM AND INCLUDING ANTI-FRICTION MEANSAT THE LOWER END THEREOF ADAPTED TO REST UPON AND GLIDE ALONG THE UPPERSURFACE OF SAID BASE MEANS, SAID LEAD SCREWS EACH BEING SUPPORTED INSPACED RELATIONSHIP TO SAID BASE MEANS SOLELY BY THE ASSOCIATED SUPPORTMEMBER AND BEARING MEANS, A MOVABLE CROSS HEAD INCLUDING AN UPPERPORTION AND A LOWER PORTION, SAID UPPER AND LOWER PORTIONS BEINGPIVOTALLY INTERCONNECTED WITH ONE ANOTHER, EACH OF SAID PORTIONS HAVINGA HOLE FORMED THERETHROUGH HAVING PRECISION THREADS THEREIN, EACH OFSAID HOLES RECEIVING ONE OF SAID LEAD SCREWS THREADED THERETHROUGH, SAIDCROSS HEAD BEING SUPPORTED SOLELY BY THE THREADED INTERCONNECTIONS WITHSAID LEAD SCREWS, AND INDICATING MEANS ON SAID CROSS HEAD OF INDICATINGTHE POSITION OF SAID COLLECTING MEANS.